Press Release: The NetBSD Foundation gets permission from IEEE
and The Open Group to incorporate material from the POSIX® standard

PISCATAWAY, N.J., SAN FRANCISCO, C.A., AND NEW YORK, N.Y. -
15 FEBRUARY, 2006: The IEEE and The Open Group have granted
permission to the
NetBSD Foundation to incorporate documentation for more than 1,400 interfaces from the
joint IEEE 1003.1" POSIX® standard and The Open Group Base
Specifications Issue 6 into its NetBSD operating system.

This step benefits developers in the NetBSD Project and software
engineers using NetBSD as their target platform. NetBSD developers can
now use standard documentation to express that a NetBSD operating
system conforms to the POSIX standard. The step also gives engineers
who write software to run on NetBSD a better understanding of how to
create portable programs using IEEE 1003.1, "Standard for Information
Technology: Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX)".

The POSIX standard, which also forms the core volumes of Version 3 of
The Open Group's Single UNIX® Specification, defines a set of
fundamental services needed for the construction of portable
application programs. The more than 1,400 interfaces from the standard
the NetBSD Foundation can now use includes header files, interfaces
for system and library calls, and utilities.

"One of the NetBSD Project's goals is to conform to standards when
this makes sense, said Alistair Crooks, president of the NetBSD
foundation. We appreciate the opportunity The Open Group has
presented to us to have our documentation reflect the POSIX standard,
which has been widely adopted in the IT community.

This permission will benefit our users, to whom standards compliance
means a great deal. It is also a huge step forward for some of our
developers, especially those whose native language is not English, in
that documentation can be adopted which accurately, succinctly and
clearly describes all software features and uses."

Andrew Josey, Director of Certification at The Open Group and Chair of
the Austin Group said, "We're very pleased to extend this grant to the
NetBSD project. It continues the momentum POSIX has built as the
defacto base platform for truly open software."

* About the NetBSD Project

NetBSD is a free, secure and highly portable Unix-like Open Source
operating system available for many platforms, from 64-bit Opteron
machines and desktop systems to handheld and embedded devices. Its
clean design and advanced features make it excellent in both
production and research environments. It is user-supported with
complete source. Many applications are easily available through
pkgsrc, the NetBSD Packages Collection. More information:
http://www.NetBSD.org/.

* About The Open Group

The Open Group is a vendor - neutral and technology- neutral
consortium, which drives the creation of Boundaryless Information
Flow™ that will enable access to integrated information within and
between enterprises based on open standards and global
interoperability. The Open Group works with customers, suppliers,
consortia and other standard bodies. Its role is to capture,
understand and address current and emerging requirements, establish
policies and share best practices; to facilitate interoperability,
develop consensus, and evolve and integrate specifications and open
source technologies; to offer a comprehensive set of services to
enhance the operational efficiency of consortia; and to operate the
industry s premier certification service. Further information on The
Open Group can be found at http://www.opengroup.org.

* About the IEEE Standards Association

The IEEE Standards Association, a globally recognized standards -
setting body, develops consensus standards through an open process
that brings diverse parts of an industry together. These standards set
specifications and procedures based on current scientific
consensus. The IEEE-SA has a portfolio of more than 870 completed
standards and more than 400 standards in development. For information
on IEEE-SA see:
http://standards.ieee.org/.

* About the IEEE

The IEEE has more than 375,000 members in approximately 150
countries. Through its members, the organization is a leading
authority on areas ranging from aerospace, computers and
telecommunications to biomedicine, electric power and consumer
electronics. The IEEE produces nearly 30 percent of the world's
literature in the electrical and electronics engineering, computing
and control technology fields. This nonprofit organization also
sponsors or cosponsors more than 300 technical conferences each
year. Additional information about the IEEE can be found at
http://www.ieee.org.